Which cycle describes the movement of carbon among the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere?

Which cycle describes the movement of carbon among the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere?

• A. Carbon cycle
• B. Nutrient cycle
• C. Water cycle
• D. Hydrologic cycle

Answer: (A)

Carbon moves through air, living things, water, and rocks in a system called the carbon cycle. It begins with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere being taken up by plants during photosynthesis, storing carbon in biomass. As organisms grow, die, and decompose, carbon cycles through food webs and is released again by respiration. The oceans exchange carbon with the atmosphere as CO2 dissolves and marine organisms form carbonate minerals, while long-term storage happens when carbon is buried in sediments and rocks or eventually released back through geological processes like weathering and volcanism. This interconnected movement links the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere, which is why the carbon cycle best describes how carbon travels among those four reservoirs. Other cycles describe different substances (like nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus) or focus specifically on water movement, not carbon.

Carbon moves through air, living things, water, and rocks in a system called the carbon cycle. It begins with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere being taken up by plants during photosynthesis, storing carbon in biomass. As organisms grow, die, and decompose, carbon cycles through food webs and is released again by respiration. The oceans exchange carbon with the atmosphere as CO2 dissolves and marine organisms form carbonate minerals, while long-term storage happens when carbon is buried in sediments and rocks or eventually released back through geological processes like weathering and volcanism. This interconnected movement links the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere, which is why the carbon cycle best describes how carbon travels among those four reservoirs. Other cycles describe different substances (like nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus) or focus specifically on water movement, not carbon.